General-service railway car



April 1 .1924. I 1,488,675

0. HOCHBERG GENERAL SERVICE RAILWAY GAR Filed Nov. 1,- 1921 2Sheets-Sheet 1 /Nl/A' TOR-' Oscar Hoe/wary #TTORNEY.

A ril 1 1924. 1,488,675

0. HOCHBERG GENERAL SERVICE RAILWAY CAR Filed Nov. 1, 1921 2 Sheets'-Sheet 2 INVENTOR: Oscar Hock hazy Patented Apr. 1, 1924.

OSCAR HOCHBERG, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGh OR TO AIEERICAN CAfi Alq'DFOUNDRY 3 COMPANY, GE NlTV-f YORK, N. A CORPORATIGN OF NEW KERSEY.

unites stares rarest QFFEQE.

GENERAL- SERVICE RAIL'WAY CAR.

Application filed November To all 101 mm it may concern:-

Be it known that I, ()scan Hoorrnnno, residing at New York, in thecounty and State of New York, and being a citizen of the United States,have invented certain new and useful linprm'enients in General -ServiceRailway Cars, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompany ing drawings, which illustrate the preferred form of theinvention, though it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as itis obvious that various modifications thereof within the scope of theclaims will occur to persons skilled in the art.

In said drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan of a portion of a car equipped with a door-operatingmechanism constructed in accordancewith my invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 22 of Fig. 3,looking in the direction indicated by the arrow;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 1,looking in the direction indicated by the arrow and showing the door inlocked and complete closed position; I

Figure 1 is a similar view showing the door locking mechanism inposition just prior to the unlocking operation when the parts move tothe position indicated in broken lines;

Figure 5 is a similar view showing the door locking parts in positionwith the door relatively closed and locked;

Figure 6 is a side view of one of the automatic gravity latches carriedby the doors; and

Figure 7 is a front elevational view of one of said gravity latches.

One object of my invention is to provide a general service railway carin which a plurality of drop doors are adapted to be manually andseverally raised and automatically locked, and simultaneously released.

Another. object is to provide a mechanism for locking the drop doors inclosed and relatively closed positions.

A further object is to provide means for simultaneously raising thedoors from a 1, 1921. Serial No 511,532.

locked and relatively closed position to a locked and fully closedposition.

- A final and important object is to provide a mechanism in 'which thedoor locking parts function independently during the first stage of thedoor raising operation and simultaneously during the final closingmovement thereof.

In said drawings, 10 represents the center siil of the car, 11 the crossframing members, 12 a side wall, and 13 designates one of the drop doorshinged at the center sill and closing the opening between said carframing menil ers. Secured to the doors 13 at their free edges aregravity locking latches 14c suspended froi'n brackets 15 or the like bypins 16 and adapted to automatically engage door supporting ferred to.

Cooperating with the gravitylatches 14 on the doors and supported inextended bearings 17 at the ends of the cross framing members 11, is adoor supporting shaft 18 adapted for lateral movement to and from aposition under the doors. For effecting such lateralfmovement, saidshaft is provided with radially disposed fingers 19 adapted forengagement with latches 14:. The shaft is movable upon engagement offingers 19 with one of the faces on latches 141, the direction of suchmovement being pposed to the direction of rotation of said shaft. Duringthe closing movement of the doors said shaft moves inwardly from the carside and in the opposite direction to release said doors.

In all positions of shaft 18, whether under the doors 13 or beyond thefree edges thereof, gravity latches 1-1 will at all times automaticallyengagesaid shaft and lock said doors when the doors are raised. Toinsure proper seating of the gravity latches 14: upon shaft 18 when thedoors are raised, the latches are formed with normally protruding shaftbearing portions 20 designed to rest upon the shaft and terminating inshaft bearing extensions 21 for limiting outward movement thereof. Forlimiting inward movement of said latches they are provided with inwardlyprojecting arm portions 22 designed to abut adjacent portions of thedoor.

Fingers 19 are designed to adapt one side thereoffor interlocking withan inner face 523 on the latches, the opposite side thereof meanshereinafter re-- presenting a bearingsurface for engaging a normallyinclined outer face 24 on the latches. The interlocking sides of fingers19 are formed as shown at 25 to enter recess 26 on inner faces on thelatches let. The interlocking of latch and finger is complete uponcontact of shaft 18 with shaft bearing extensions 21 on the latches andengagement of finger portions 25 within latch recesses 26. Thuspositioned, a positive and rigid connection between shaft? fingers anddoor latches is achieved. The opposite sides 27 of fingers 19 are formedto bear against the outer face 2-1- on the latches at a point belowpivot pins 16 to urge shaft 18 outwardly from under said latches.

To facilitate the manual operation of the doors 13, I provide alooppiece 28- on the underside of each door a short distance back of thefree edges thereof as in Figs. 1 and 3, adapted to receive the end of atemporary bar 29 to afford additional leverage against possibleobstruction to door raising movement. The bar is braced against theunderside of a door stiffener 30 during the door raising operation topermit the door to pass above the shaft and prevent the bar fromstriking said shaft. The loop 28' is large enough to permit the shiftingof the lifting bar to either corner of the door in the event of thesagging of the door at these points to insure the proper seating oflatches 14 upon the shaft.

In operation, if it is desired to lock the doors in the fully closedposition shown in Figs. 1 to t inc., the doors are first raised byhand,using bar 29 if necessary, until the latches lat seat with their shaftbearing portions 20' upon the shaft 1'8 which, at this stage. of theoperation, occupies the outer end of the elongated bearing 17' as shownin Fig. 5; With the shaft in this position and the latches-1 4 restingthereon, the-door will occupy the relatively closed position shown inthis figure. During the progress of door movement-to such relativelyclosed position, the latches 1 1 will engage-shaft 18 along theiiinclined: outer faces 2 and-be forced inwardly'untilisaidLfaces clearthe shaft where 5 upon said latches will swing outwardly bygravity untiltheir shaft bearing portions 20" are firmly seated upon the shaft andthe door locked. lVith the latches thus seated upon the shaft the doorwill be locked in a relatively closed position and in condition to beraised to its final and fully closed position. As soon as the doors areraised and their latches mounted on the shaft, any subsequent movementof said shaft will be transmitted to such latches simultaneously.

To raise the locked relatively closed: doors to their fully closedposition, the shaft 18 is rotated by means of any suitable. operatingmeans (not shown) in a direction away from the free edge of the door asindicated by the. arrow in Fig. 5, until portion 25 of finger 19 on theshaft nests within recess 26 on inner face 23 of latch 14. Uponcontinued rotation of the shaft said'finger will press upon the latch tocause same to bear with its extension 21 against the shaft, forming ineffect a rigid crank-arm mounted upon shaft 18 and taking pin 16 on thedoor. With the latch 1i functioning as a crankarm, further rotation ofshaft 18 will cause said shaft to be moved inwardly toward the door,forcing said door upwardly to the full locked and closed position shownin Fig. i. Upon consummation of such movement, shaft rotation will ceaseupon contact of latch projecting portion 22 with-an adjacent part of thedoor.

It will be noted that in their final locked position the latches 14k andfingers 1S) func tion to trans sit the load on the doors directly to theshaft. In such position of the parts, the doors are wedged up andlocked, the wedging effect being produced by the movement of the shafttowards the door. During such movementof the shaft, the crank armsthereon, made up of the latches and fingers aforesaid, will move fromthe inclined position indicated in Fig; 5 to the vertical position shownin Fig. e producing a aowerful wed in action noon the doors f throughouttheir final closing movement.

To release the doors the shaft is rotated in a direction toward the freeedge of the door as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 4;. As

ill)

the shaft is rotated, finger portion 25 will 1W draw away from recess 26on the inner face 23 of latch 14 and continue to move until the oppositeside 27 of finger 19 engages the outer face 2&- on the latches- Duringsuch period: of rotation the shaft is held: at the innermost endofelongated' bearings 17, the tendency for the shaft to move in thedirection'of rotation thereof being prevented by the latches. 1% heldagainst inward movement by latch. arms 22' abuttii'igzthc doors. Uponengagement of! finger portions 27 and latch faces 24, continued rotationof shaft .18 will causexsaid. shaft to bemored outwardly from underlatches 14: and out ofthc path of the free edge of the door 53,permitting said door to drop to the broken line position indicatedin:Fig. 8.

lVith the mechanism described, permanent connections between doors andshaft are dispensed with, and the doors are automatically and positivelylocked when severally raised; relieving the operator from any necessityfor manipulating locking devices while holding the doors; The shaft ismovable into' final door supporting position through the mediumonly'ofthe door latches independently of any part on. the. car fi'aining,said latches uniting with the shaft fingers to form rig-id crank-armsfixed! to the supporting: shafts.

ill

hat I claim is:

1. In a door operating mechanism, the combination comprising a hingeddoor, separate supporting means therefor, and locking latches pivotallymounted on said door adapted to swing by gravity into position forinitially engaging said supporting means and to subsequently interlockand move with said means to completely close said door.

2. In a dump car, a plurality of drop doors forming the floor of saidcar and adapted to be manually and severally raised, gravity latchesdepending from said doors, and door supporting means in position toinitially engage said latches, said supporting means beii'ig movablewith said latches to subsequently close said doors.

3. In a general service railway car, manually and severally operabledrop doors carrying pivoted locking latches attheir free edges, saidlatches being adapted to automatically lock said doors when raised, andseparate movable door supporting means adjacent said doors in positionto be moved outwardly from under said latches for subsequently releasingsaid doors.

at. In a. dump car, manually and severally operable drop doors carryinggravity locking latches at their free edges, and separate doorsupporting means adjacent said doors adapted to engage said lockinglatches for simultaneously closing said doors, said latches operating toautomatically engage the door supporting means upon the raising of saiddoors.

5. In a door operating mechanism for general service railway cars havinga plurality of drop doors, door supporting mechanism extending along thecar side and adjacent the free edges of said doors, gravity lookinglatches carried by the doors adapted to automatically engage saidsupporting mechanism for locking said doors in a relatively closedposition, said latches being movable with. said supporting mechanism tocompletely close said doors 6. In a. general service railway carcomprising framing members and manually and severally operable dropdoors closing the openings between said members, a door supporting shaftmo-vably supported in said framing members adjacent the free edges ofsaid doors, and gravity latches carried by the doors adapted toautomatically engage said supporting shaft for locking said doors whenraised.

7. In a general service railway car comprising framing members andmanually and severally operable drop doors closing the openings betweensaid members, a door supporting shaft movably supported in said framingmembers adjacent the free edges of said doors, and gravity latchescarried by the doors designed to automatically engage said supportingshaftfor locking said doors in a relatively closed position, saidlatches being adapted for connection With the supporting shaft tocompletely close said doors.

8.111 a door operating mechanism for cars having a plurality of manuallyand. severally operable drop doors supported at their free'cdges whenraised, a separate door supporting shaft supported on the car framingadjacent the free edges of said doors, and means on the shaft adaptedfor engagement with a movable door part to laterally move said shaft.

9. In a general service railway car having a plurality of manually andseverally operable drop doors supported at their free edges when raised,a separate door supporting shaft on the car framing adjacent the freeedges of said doors, pivoted locking latches carried by said doors atthe free edges thereof, and means on said shaft designed forinter-locking engagement with said latches for laterally moving saidshaft.

10. In a general service railway car comprising framing members andmanually and severally operable drop doors closing the openings betweensaid members, a door supporting shaft mov-ably supported in said framingmembers adjacent the free edges of said doors, gravity latches carriedby the doors designed to automatically engage said supporting shaft forlocking said doors in a relatively closed position, and means on theshaft adapted for subsequent interlocking engagement with said latchesto laterally move said shaft.

11. In a door operating mechanism for cars having a plurality ofmanually and severally operable drop doors supported at their free edgeswhen raised, a separate door supporting shaft mo-vably supported on thecar adjacent the free edges of said doors, gravity latches carried bythe doors adapted to automatically engage said supporting shaft forinitially locking said doors, and means on said shaft for subsequentlyestablishing connection with said latches 12. In a general servicerailway car having a plurality of manually and severally operable dropdoors carrying gravity locking latches at their free edges, a separatedoor supporting shaft in position to engage said latches upon raising ofthe doors, and rigid finger elements on said shaft in position to engagesaid latches for laterally moving said shaft.

13. In a door operating mechanism for cars including a rotatable andlaterally movable door supporting shaft mounted in extended hearings onthe car framing, drop doors arranged with their free edges adj arentsaid shaft and adapted to be manually and severally raised, gravitylocking latches carried by the doors in position to automatically engagesaid shaft when the "doors are "raised and to support said doors "in arelatively closed position and 'ing latc-li engaging fingers, saidfingers be-' rigid finger elements on said shaft uniting with saidlatches to laterally more said shaft'jtor completely closing said doors;

1%. In a door operating mechanism for cars having a plurality" ofmanually and severally operahledrop doors supported at their free ed eswhen raised, a separate door supporting shaft supported on thecarframing' adjacent the free" edges of said doors and adapted tosupport thedoors in a plurality of: positio1is,'ancl pivoted lockinglatc hes carried by said'doors in position to automatically engage"said"shait to lock said doors in a relatively closed position, saidlatchesheing designedto'oause' lZI-tClTfllf move'i'i'ient of said shaftto completely close said doors.

15. In a dump car, a plurality of'drop doors" forming the floor 'ot'said car and ada )tcd to be manually and severally raisedpivoted'l'atches depending from said doors and a door snpporting'shaitin position to initially engage *said latches," said shaft hating latchengag ng fingers 'adapted to unite'with said 'latches to provide aconnection w th said doors.

16. In a door operating mechanism, the

combination comprising a hinged dooi", 1()Ck1l1g llt-Cl1GS pivotallymounted on said door; a i'norahledoor sup-porting shait hav-' ing'adapted to rigidly unite with said latches to connect said door andsha-it.

1'. In a door operatingmechanism 1noluding a door supporting shaftmovably mounted adjacent the free edge of the door;

a drop door provided with a depending latch pivotally mounted on saiddoor in position to engage theshaft, and a linger piece on' the shaftformed' to unite With said latch to provide a rigid connection betweenSillChClOOl and shaft.

18. In a door operating mechanism iiieluding a door and'a.movable"supportin shaft, pivoted latches on the door adapted toinitially engage said shaft upon the raising of door to a relativelyclosedpos'ition, and fingers on the shaft Cleslgn' dafi complement saidlatches to iorni a rigid" cranloarm connection'adapted to "move saidshattto' completely close said door.

In witness'whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twoWitnesses;

OSCAR HO'CHBERG. itnesses':

ARTHUR JIKELLNEVR, LEOPOLD ALMQUTST.

